Gas turbine engines, such as those which power aircraft and industrial equipment, employ a compressor to compress air that is drawn into the engine and a turbine to capture energy associated with the combustion of a fuel-air mixture. Bearings are used to support the rotational hardware of an engine. For example, bearings are used to support a shaft of the engine.
During assembly of an engine, bearing compartment components typically have an interference fit with a shaft. In order to facilitate installation of the bearing, the bearing is heated to at least a threshold temperature that causes the bearing to grow larger than (a diameter of) the shaft so that the bearing can slide over the shaft and into a designated position. This process is repeated for other components that have an interference fit; examples of such other components include seals, spacers, oil scoops, etc. FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 that includes a seal 206, a first bearing 212a, a spacer 218, and a second bearing 212b arranged relative to (e.g., radially outward from) a shaft 224. The first bearing 212a includes a first roller/rolling element 213a and a first race 214a and the second bearing 212b includes a second roller/rolling element 213b and a second race 214b. 
During assembly, the components 206-218 are installed on the shaft 224 in the order just mentioned (e.g., left-to-right in FIG. 2). For example, the seal 206 is installed first, then the first bearing 212a, then the spacer 218, then the second bearing 212b. The arrangement/positioning of components (e.g., the components 206-218) adjacent to one another about a shaft (e.g., the shaft 224) may be referred to as a “stack” herein.
During assembly, each of the components 206-218 is heated as described above and then, in turn, pressed against the prior component in the stack (e.g., the component that is to the left in FIG. 2) via engagement of a loading ram 240. Regarding the first/left-most component in the stack (e.g., the seal 206 in FIG. 2), that component may be pressed against a lip/shoulder 224a of the shaft 224 via the loading ram 240. In this respect, the shoulder 224a may form a part of the stack. The loading ram 240 is frequently implemented as a hydraulically actuated member.
While the loading ram 240 is engaged/applied to the component being added/assembled to the stack, the component (e.g., the second bearing 212b as shown in the example of FIG. 2) that the loading ram 240 interfaces to is allowed to cool to a threshold temperature. Once this threshold temperature is reached, the loading ram 240 is disengaged/removed from the stack. Maintaining the loading ram 240 in an engaged state during component cooling ensures that the component (e.g., the second bearing 212b in FIG. 2) remains properly seated and gaps do not form between components in the stack.
Allowing each of the components in the stack to cool represents a cost in terms of the time it takes to assemble the engine. In some instances a component may take on the order of one hour to cool to the threshold temperature. In order to mitigate/reduce this time/cost, air may be blown onto a component to accelerate the rate at which the component cools. The use of blown air may have a tendency to introduce debris to the component. As such, the practice of using blown air may not be acceptable. This is particularly true in the context of the bearings 212a and 212b, due to the high cleanliness standards that are frequently associated therewith.